The Elements Saga: Part One - The Game Begins
by Naodrith
Summary: The five Element Masters of the Digiworld are playing a dangerous game, and only the newest Digidestined can stop them. However, they don't know that they're mere pawns, and the Element Masters can stop them with the flick of a card...
1. The Meeting

Prologue: The Meeting  
  
Farasimon tapped one painted fingernail against the table. "Where /is/ Senauramon?" she asked, glancing around at the rich furnishings of the room as if expecting the pale digimon to come out of a tapestry.  
  
"I'm sure Senny just had some work to do," Kemaimon said cheerfully. Farasimon regarded him darkly.  
  
"Disgusting."  
  
"Let him have his fun," the red and gold dragon perched outside the window rumbled, ducking his elongated neck to peer inside.  
  
"Ryukumon, no respectable Element Master would be so darn happy!"  
  
A white snout poked in through the other window. "With the wind blowing as it is, who can be unhappy, Fara?"  
  
"I can!"  
  
"And you're very good at it," Senauramon said, appearing in the throne at the head of the table. "Are we all present?"  
  
Ryukumon turned one faceted eye to the table. "Where is Myzzeramon?"  
  
"Dead." Her cold voice rang in the suddenly silent room.  
  
"Then who's the Lightning Master?" Farasimon demanded, pushing her chair away from the table and standing, green eyes glittering dangerously.  
  
Kemaimon sniffled. "Myzzy died? Aw, Senny, why can't you ever bring /good/ news?"  
  
"Fool," Senauramon muttered. "She was murdered by those Motimon she rules over. They apparently didn't like her condescending attitude. We meet today to choose a new Lightning Master."  
  
"Do we need one?" Skydramon asked, drawing away from the window so that he could put his large blue eye against it. "There aren't that many of them, after all, and five Masters can play the Game better than six."  
  
"That's right!" Kemaimon said, brightening instantly. "You promised I could go first this time!"  
  
"Only because you lost last time," Farasimon muttered.  
  
"It wasn't his fault," Ryukumon objected. "He played that brilliant Attack card, and he would've won but Senauramon managed to choose the World of Data."  
  
The dark digimon shrugged, leaning back on the throne. "My deck has only the best cards, you know."  
  
"Let's start playing right now!" Kemaimon squealed, drawing out a plain deck of cards and choosing five.  
  
"All right," Skydramon muttered. "Make your move."  
  
Kemaimon debated between his cards, then chose one and laid it on the table. "I play the Digidestined card," he announced. "I'm bringing them into it early this time. And I strengthen it with my Double or Nothing card."  
  
"What does that do?" Farasimon demanded.  
  
"It means I get to double my number of chosen Destined, or else I don't get any."  
  
"What does it depend on, you idiot?"  
  
Kemaimon shrugged. "I never quite figured that out..."  
  
Farasimon smacked her head. "Okay, if it's already time to choose Destined brats, I go first, by tradition. Teromon. That's my Destined Digimon this time. And I want a female, but not a ditz, one who's intelligent - but not very. I give her the Crest of Faith and...hmm. That's it."  
  
Ryukumon peered at the cards held gently in his claws for a moment. "I also choose a female and pair her with Arcamon. She will play a card game similar to ours, and I give her Joy. But I play this." He stretched his muscular, scaled arm in through the window and laid down a card. "Angst. She had a very bad past, my dear Destined child. How will Joy glow in the face of that?"  
  
Kemaimon thought about that. "I want a girl, too, and I'm giving her Peace, and Celamon. She's the daughter of Farasimon's last champion. That's it."  
  
Skydramon examined his cards. "Darmon," he said finally. "Partnered with Yamato's son, child of Respect. He likes sports, I believe. Darmon isn't in my Element, but I don't mind. Few Air-types are good enough for the Digidestined."  
  
Senauramon smirked. "I do so enjoy this game," she said, laying a card face- down. "I give my chosen this. He is the child of last time's genius, with the Crest of Power and a good partner in Varismon. Did you figure out that Double or Nothing card yet, Kemaimon?"  
  
"Yes!" he said, grinning brilliantly. "I get to use the Double power if I pass my strongest card to another player. I get Nothing if I choose not to. I want to give it to Senny, on account of she'll use it better than me." He riffled through the deck, chose a card, and handed it to Senauramon. "For my second, I choose Ryukumon's Destined's little brother. I give him Ranumon and the Crest of Truth."  
  
Ryukumon glared at Kemaimon. "You're using her little brother?" he objected. "What about the Angst card I played?"  
  
"Well, obviously he wasn't affected by it."  
  
"I had plans for that card!"  
  
"Double or Nothing is powerful."  
  
"You're driving me crazy!"  
  
"Let's just play the game," Senauramon suggested. "I'll use the card Kemaimon so kindly gave to me...the Enemies card. That means I choose the enemies. And I pick us."  
  
"Us?" Skydramon said, his muzzle reappearing in the window. "You want /us/to fight /them/?"  
  
"It's a potent card. Yes, we are their enemies...this should be an interesting game indeed!" 


	2. Welcome

Chapter One: Welcome  
  
Tamara Takana laid her card down with a flourish. "The Dark Magician," she said. "Sorry, Inny, I just took all your lifepoints."  
  
Inero Takana sighed and gathered up his deck. "Mara, my deck isn't any good..."  
  
"That's because you never bothered to learn strategy, Inny."  
  
"That's the fourth time you beat me, Mara, and I had a strategy."  
  
"Not much of one. You really should watch Yu-Gi-Oh, little brother."  
  
Inero shrugged and stuck his dueling deck into his jacket pocket. "Dad doesn't believe in television, Mara."  
  
Tamara rolled her eyes and put her own deck into her pocket. "We'll watch tomorrow, then. You're here all weekend."  
  
"Yeah, but you have to go to school tomorrow."  
  
"So?"  
  
"I'll be bored."  
  
"You can watch my taped episodes. G'night, Inny."  
  
"Good night, Tamara." Inero watched sadly as his sister skipped out of his room.  
  
~~  
  
Tamara met up with her friend Kaishi Izumi early the next morning. "My brother is visiting," she said importantly.  
  
"My sister is driving me crazy," he muttered, running a hand through his unruly red hair. "Dad is, too. His friend Mimi moved back to Japan a month ago, and he's always going out to eat with her and his other friends. I get stuck hanging out with Mimi's daughter, Yoko, and Yamato's son, Chino. Luckily, the others need /real/ babysitters, so I'm not stuck with them."  
  
Tamara shook her head sympathetically. "Don't Chino and Yoko go to our school?"  
  
"Yeah, but so what? They're younger, and they drive me nuts. Chino is a sports freak, always trying to watch baseball and soccer on TV, and Yoko's...kinda weird, really. She likes pink."  
  
"Gross," Tamara agreed.  
  
"Oh, and then there's Sandra. She's the American exchange student, and she lives in the apartment across from me. She's always borrowing things. She's driving me crazy, too."  
  
"Anyone else?" Tamara asked, her dark eyes glittering with mirth.  
  
"You bet, m'dear darlin' girl, there's you. You're driving me nuts with this Yu-Gi-Oh craze of yours."  
  
"It's a fun game, and face it, if Yami Yugi were real..."  
  
"Girls." Kaishi filled the word with profound disgust and hatred. "Oh, and on top of the weirdoes and my family and you, there's my computer. It's so messed up. Dad keeps getting the strangest emails about some Tentomon. He freaks out. And the other day, I got a package in the mail with these." He swung his backpack off his shoulder and rifled through it, pulling out a small blue device and a necklace. The necklace had a small piece of glass covering a gray rectangle with the picture of a linked circle and square on it.  
  
Tamara's eyes widened, and she lifted her red and orange shirt to show him the blue device clipped to the belt of her jeans. "My necklace is at home. It's yellow, though, and the symbol is a leaf with a raindrop in the middle."  
  
"That's weird," Kaishi agreed. "Let's get to class."  
  
"Mara!" a small voice shrieked. Tamara turned to see Inero racing toward her, the yellow necklace dangling from his fingers. He skidded to a halt in front of her and held it up. "Mara, I have one of these. Why do you have one? Did you buy it?"  
  
Tamara opened her mouth to reply, but before she could, a soft voice spoke. "If you did buy it, could you tell me where?" She whirled to see Sandra, the American girl Kaishi knew. Her necklace was purple.  
  
"We have them too," another girl said, her cinnamon-colored eyes wide. "I'm Yoko Atayari, and this is Chino Ishida and Sandra Charlotte."  
  
"Six of us, then," Kaishi said, nodding sagely.  
  
The bell rang, cutting loudly into the sudden silence. "Let's get to class," Chino said nervously. "I'll get kicked off the baseball team if I'm late again."  
  
The look on Kaishi's face at that comment was priceless. Tamara quickly covered by saying, "We'll meet again after school to discuss this."  
  
Gravely nodding, the children went off to class--or, in Inero's case, home.  
  
~~  
  
Ryukumon placed a card on the table. "I play this card, face-down until I choose to activate it."  
  
"And I'll play this," Farasimon snarled, her nails clicking on the table as she threw down the card. "Digital Gate, open!"  
  
"I counter with this," Skydramon said quickly. His long white arm snaked in through the window and set down a card. "Digital Guardian, awaken! I summon...Aerodyemon!"  
  
~~  
  
Tamara and Kaishi were packing up in the computer room when the screen of Kaishi's computer began to glow brightly. "What the heck?" he said, stepping back quickly. The other students stopped what they were doing and stared.  
  
The door banged open, and Sandra dashed in, almost colliding with Tamara. "What's going on?" she asked.  
  
Moments later, Chino and Yoko arrived, followed closely by Inero. "I'm kinda scared," Inero confessed.  
  
"Let's get outta here!" Tamara snapped, turning to run.  
  
But the Digital Gate card had other plans. The screen faded into a deep blue, and a program popped up. The Gate opened and dragged the new Digidestined into it.  
  
~~  
  
Senauramon had been watching intently as the others played their cards. Now it was her turn again, as Kemaimon's Double or Nothing card had impaired him for two turns. She idly perused her hand. What could she play? Neither of the two Monster cards would help. She had a Weapon card and an Armor card, but she didn't want to arm her chosen Digidestined just yet. The other card, however, seemed just right for the occasion...  
  
Negligently she flipped her card onto the table. "Elimination," she clarified, seeing the awed gaze of the other players. "After one full turn has passed, all Monster cards on the field go to the cemetery. Better hope it's a good turn, Skydramon..."  
  
~~  
  
Kaishi swore colorfully upon arrival in the Digiworld. The six children had landed in a heap, with him on the bottom. "Ow."  
  
Inero got up, stumbled, and groaned. "My head hurts, Mara."  
  
"Where are we?" she asked, wriggling out of the pile and staring at their surroundings. "Look at this place. The trees are different colors, and the grass is really dark..."  
  
A gust of wind sent all six tumbling backwards as something enormous flew by overhead. "I hope that thing is friendly!" Chino shouted over the wind.  
  
Something small and brown leapt into Chino's lap then. "Howdy!" it said, also yelling. "I'm Darmon!" Darmon looked a bit like a dinosaur, with stumpy arms, a whiplike tail, and a metallic mask covering his face.  
  
"What are you?" Yoko asked.  
  
"A digimon," he said.  
  
"Tornado of Wind!" the creature flying overhead said in a deep, booming voice.  
  
~~  
  
Farasimon found it strange that Ryukumon had a Wind Attack in his deck, but she ignored it and played two of her favorite cards. "I give you a gift, Sandra," she said, knowing that the girl wouldn't hear. "This is my Rainbow Baton, and I add to it the magic of Crystal Shield!"  
  
~~  
  
No one was more startled than Sandra when a shimmering baton appeared in her left hand. She screamed, throwing it away in horror. It trailed sparks through the air as it fell amid the bushes.  
  
The wind picked up, and a cyclone began to form high above. "We have to stop it," Yoko announced. "Go get that thing, Sandra. Maybe it will help."  
  
"I doubt it," the American muttered, walking to the bush and picking up the baton. She swung it in a wide circle, scattering sparks everywhere. The sparks solidified and grew, rapidly encasing her in a glittering shield.  
  
"See, it helped," Yoko said smugly. "Now let the rest of us in."  
  
Sandra poked the shield tentatively with the tip of the baton, creating a small hole. She rapidly erased part of the wall and stepped back, waiting for the others to get inside the shield.  
  
Chino, Darmon, and Inero made it in before the tornado of wind blasted a large hole in the ground. Tamara, Yoko, and Kaishi dove out of the way, acquiring scrapes, but nothing serious.  
  
"That wasn't very nice," a small voice pouted. A blue and green cat with a short tail and large, round ears leapt from the bushes and into Yoko's arms, peering upward angrily. "I'm Celamon, and I don't like your attitude, Aerodyemon."  
  
The large flying creature high above paused, waiting for something...  
  
~~  
  
Skydramon drew away from the window, staring nervously at his hand. With Kemaimon unable to move, this was the last card he could play before Senauramon destroyed Aerodyemon. The way he saw it, there were two options: he could wait indefinitely, enabling Aerodyemon to shake off the compulsion of the cards and attack on his own, or he could play an Attack card.  
  
His claws trembling with the suspense, he reached out to the deck floating on a wisp of wind and drew.  
  
~~  
  
Aerodyemon, high above, shook his head slightly to clear it of the haze that made him attack. Waiting for instructions, he peered down at the Digidestined below. They were so /small/, so...utterly pathetic. Did the Element Masters actually /enjoy/ tormenting these pitiful souls?  
  
Before he could pursue that thought any farther, the haze returned, a single thought penetrating it. "Attack. Attack. Attack. Conflicting Winds Attack, now. Your Master commands it of you!"  
  
Unable to do anything else, Aerodyemon reached out to the still air and set it moving. "Conflicting Winds," he called, just to warn the humans below, as he sent two bursts of air rushing at each other, with the aim of crushing the Digidestined in between. 


	3. Partners

A/N: Okay, peeps, I'm gonna start crying if you don't start reviewing. This story doesn't suck /that/ much. . . pweese? I'll give you a cookie.  
  
Disclaimer: You know, I don't usually do disclaimers. They aren't really necessary. After all, by writing fanfiction, we automatically acknowledge that we don't own it, but we wish we did, so we spend time /pretending/ we own it. There. That's the disclaimer for the whole series. Nyaah.  
  
Chapter 2: Partners  
  
Yoko grabbed the blue-green cat Celamon and stumbled through the hole in the shield, closely followed by Tamara and Kaishi. Sandra reached over them with the baton and swung it sharply up, closing the gap just as the two gusts of wind slammed into each other.  
  
The force of the collision ripped a hole in the Crystal Shield and sent the Digidestined to their knees. Celamon squirmed out of Yoko's arms and glared upwards. "What do you think you're--"  
  
With a loud roar, Aerodyemon vanished.  
  
"Oy," Sandra said intelligently.  
  
"Is it over?"  
  
Inero shot a glance at the trembling bush which had, apparently, spoken. "Who's that?"  
  
"Ranumon. Who's that?"  
  
"Inero Takana."  
  
"Oh!" The shaking stopped and a small yellow mouse bounced out of the bush. He had silver stripes winding up and down his body and a very long, thin tail with a hard golden ball on the end. "You're my partner, then."  
  
"Okay," Inero said.  
  
Tamara grabbed her brother's arm to prevent him from moving forward to greet Ranumon. "Don't touch it. We don't know what it is. Looks kinda like a warped Pikachu."  
  
"You have spoken the name of evil!" Kaishi intoned. "Now must thee die!"  
  
"I don't really think 'thee' is the proper word there," Sandra murmured.  
  
"Thou, then. Now must /thou/ die."  
  
"I think 'thee' sounds better," Chino objected. Darmon nodded, his green eyes wide behind his mask.  
  
"I like thou," Tamara said, grinning at Kaishi.  
  
"Aw, thanks," he said, blushing prettily.  
  
"All this talk about the Pikachu," Yoko noted.  
  
"It's Ranumon," Inero corrected her. "/He's/ Ranumon."  
  
Ranumon jumped up and balanced on the ball at the tip of his tail. "We're digimon, digital monsters. This is the Digiworld, and you're the Digidestined. Oh, and that was Aerodyemon. I never liked him."  
  
"Okay," Chino said slowly. "Digi. So we're, like, in the computer?"  
  
"Wake up, baseball boy," Kaishi snapped. "Digi doesn't necessarily mean 'in a computer.' Does this look like a computer to you? No computer in the world is this big."  
  
"Maybe we shrunk," Sandra suggested.  
  
Inero jerked his arm from Tamara's hold and went to pick up Ranumon. "I think it really is a different world, Mara-san."  
  
"Yeah, right," she muttered.  
  
Kaishi bit his lip in thought. "So that's Darmon, and that's Celamon, and that's Ranumon." He pointed at each as he spoke. "All ending with 'mon'. That seems to suggest that the Tentomon Dad's been getting emails about is /also/ a digimon."  
  
Tamara shrugged. "Your point?"  
  
"My father must know about this place."  
  
Yoko's eyes widened. "Mother got an email about Palmon a week ago! She started crying!"  
  
"Mother?" Kaishi asked incredulously. "What kind of freakish ten-year-old calls their mom Mother?"  
  
"I'm nine, thankyouverymuch," the small girl said stiffly.  
  
"An' I'm a Rookie!" Celamon added, trying to sound prim and not succeeding.  
  
Chino shook his head in confusion. "A /what/?"  
  
"It's the fourth level," Darmon said. "There's Egg, which isn't really a level at all, Baby, In-Training, and Rookie. Rookie is normal for partner digimon. Oh, and after that there's Champion, Ultimate, and Mega."  
  
"This is a lot to take in," Tamara said. "My head's spinning. Don't I get a digi-whatever?"  
  
A canine-type digimon bounded from the bushes, trailing flame behind her. "Of course, Tama! I'm Arcamon. Don't touch me without /warning/ me, 'kay?"  
  
Tamara jumped back in alarm. "Er, you're on fire, Arcamon."  
  
"Silly! I'm /supposed/ to be on fire!" Arcamon giggled.  
  
"Whatever you say. Can I call you Arcanine?"  
  
"You have spoken the name of another evil," Kaishi warned her.  
  
"And /when/ did /you/ become so fluent in Pokemon names?" she asked, glaring at him in mock anger.  
  
"When I had to endure your endless ranting during your Pokemon phase."  
  
"Oh. Right."  
  
Sandra looked around suspiciously. "Kaishi and I don't have our digimon yet."  
  
"Actually," said a hissing sort of voice, "I've been here for some time, now."  
  
Kaishi jerked away from the shadow-creature that had suddenly materialized before him, floating in front of his face. "Don't do that."  
  
"Varismon does what he chooses to do," the shadow hissed. "And I choose /you/."  
  
"Now who's spouting evil?" Tamara snickered.  
  
"What about /me/?" Sandra asked, pouting adorably. Not even the plants could resist that pout, which was proved when a strange-looking fern moved to come closer.  
  
"Don't do dat, Alexandra."  
  
"Sandra," the girl corrected, peering at the fern. "What are you?"  
  
"Teromon." The fern tilted its head up, revealing a pixie-like face and a slight, wispy body mostly hidden by the amber-streaked fern on her head. "You /my/ partner, Alexandra."  
  
"I choose you, Pikachu," Tamara said, grinning broadly. "Okay, we have partners, so now. . . why the heck are we here?"  
  
"The Game's afoot," Arcamon said cryptically. "Farasimon, the Plant Master, is being mean all of a sudden."  
  
~~  
  
"How flattering," Farasimon remarked.  
  
~~  
  
Teromon nodded, almost overbalancing because of the fern on her head. "She ordered all of us to start working on a really ugly palace. She wants to take over the world."  
  
~~  
  
"As a matter of fact, all I want to do is win the Game," Farasimon corrected, examining her nails.  
  
Kemaimon chuckled. "You've just been insulted. Ugly palace."  
  
"I know. I'll deal with it later. Whose turn is it?"  
  
"Mine," Ryukumon rumbled. "I'm waiting, though. If we throw too much at them right now, they'll start to suspect something."  
  
"True," Skydramon acknowledged.  
  
Senauramon didn't care to participate in this discussion. She gently tapped the face-down card she had given to Kaishi. She would, of course, wait for the right moment to bring it into play. It wouldn't do to have too many of the other Masters around. They would suspect something immediately, perhaps even see her real plan.  
  
After all, one didn't play an Armor card of such potency unless one had a fairly well-planned strategy. Surely the others would know that.  
  
Then again...  
  
Senauramon waited, her eyes glinting.  
  
~~  
  
"Take over /this/ world?" Inero asked.  
  
"Yes," Ranumon answered.  
  
"I get it," Chino announced. "We have to find this Farasimon and convince her not to take over the world. That's why we're here."  
  
"That's brilliant!" Yoko squealed.  
  
"For a sports dork," Kaishi muttered. Then, raising his voice, he said, "We'd better get going, then. We've got to get to Farasimon's palace."  
  
"What do we do when we get there?" Yoko asked.  
  
"Um. . . I'll tell you when we get there." That settled, the redhead walked determinedly off into the forest, the strange shadow Varismon hovering over his head.  
  
"Is that the right way?" Sandra asked.  
  
"Yes," Teromon answered. "That's the right way."  
  
"Okay," Tamara said. "Come on, Arcanine." She walked off after Kaishi, closely followed by Arcamon, Inero, and Ranumon. The remaining Digidestined just looked at each other.  
  
"Do we follow?" Yoko asked finally.  
  
"I guess," Chino said uncertainly. "Seems like we should."  
  
The three humans looked at each other, then silently moved off after the other Digidestined.  
  
~~  
  
Ryukumon finally chose a card and handed it to Farasimon, who had been standing impatiently at the window. She walked to the table and laid it down as the dragon announced, "That's the Protection spell. It can't be removed. When the Digidestined sleep, they cannot be attacked by any monsters."  
  
Farasimon yawned, bored, and played her own card. "Roseinamon in defensive mode. She will be the first of my guards."  
  
Skydramon's next card floated to the table. "Night Descending. That means it's nighttime now. I love these cards."  
  
Kemaimon, finally free to move, frowned. "Do you think they're too powerful? After all, the power to decide when it's night is kinda. . . I dunno. Anyway, this is my play. It's quite simple, really." He set down a card - face-down.  
  
"All that whining about a /face-down/ card?" Farasimon sneered.  
  
Senauramon grinned maliciously, staring straight at Ryukumon, who looked away as she said softly, laying down a card, "Perhaps I cannot remove your Protection spell. But there are other ways of attacking. I set the Nightmares card in play. It will not take effect for one full turn."  
  
Skydramon whistled, although it came out sounding like a hiss. "That's one powerful card."  
  
Farasimon smirked and stood up, setting her hand on the table, face-down. "I'm off to see to the preparations of my castle. Call me on my turn. Oh, and 'Naura - brilliant move. Especially since it's a recurring card." She swept out of the room, slamming the heavy door behind her.  
  
"Recurring?" Kemaimon asked.  
  
"Every time a Night Descending card is played, Nightmares takes effect," she said with a malicious grin. "Protection won't help, Ryukumon, not when I can get inside their minds!" 


	4. First Fights

A/N: I don't own this. None of it. Not Yu-Gi-Oh, not Digimon, nada. For a lengthier disclaimer, read chapter two. For those who notice these things, the face-down card I refer to was played immediately before the Digital Gate in Chapter One. Oh, and just a heads up: I don't do /character/ bashing, but I /will/, on occasion, allow the characters to bash something. Pokemon and rap music, so far. This is because. . . Tamara and Kaishi have Opinions. Without further ado, Chapter Three.  
  
Chapter Three: First Fights  
  
"Boy, it sure got dark fast," Yoko noted, hugging Celamon, her cinnamon- colored eyes wide.  
  
"No kidding," Kaishi snapped. Tamara stared at him, her eyebrows raised, and tapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"What is /up/?" she whispered. "You aren't usually this antisocial."  
  
"I am /not/ antisocial!"  
  
The dark-haired girl leveled a devastating smile at him, then dropped back to speak with the brightly-glowing Arcamon.  
  
"Shouldn't we stop for the night?" Chino asked, painfully oblivious to the fact that Kaishi was being quite obvious in his hatred of athletic fifth graders.  
  
"I think that's a good idea," Sandra murmured, staring down at the sleeping Teromon in her arms.  
  
"There's a clearing just ahead," Varismon hissed, hovering just over Kaishi's head. "We can stay there for the night."  
  
It took only a few minutes for them to set up camp, as they had no sleeping bags and no food. Arcamon was able to light a fire after Inero had gathered some wood.  
  
"I'm tired," Yoko finally said, her hands held out to the blaze. "Do we got to sleep on the ground?"  
  
Sandra nodded. "We got to sleep on the ground, yes."  
  
Shortly after that, unknowingly compelled by the Nightmares card, they all fell asleep.  
  
All but the owner of a pair of deep brown eyes, who watched them from behind a bush, silent and patient.  
  
~~  
  
Tamara woke up screaming, her voice hoarse. She quickly grabbed hold of herself by putting her hand on Arcamon's back, quite by accident. With another screech, she yanked her hand away, shaking it frantically. "You burned me!" she accused shrilly, staring at the red mark on her palm.  
  
"I warned you to warn me," Arcamon protested, yawning as she woke up. "I can't turn the heat off /all/ the time. It's very strenuous."  
  
"Ah!" Inero yelled, thrashing around in his sleep and accidentally brushing his sister's partner. That woke him up rather quickly. "Ow ow ow!"  
  
"Well, that's just great," Tamara snapped, sisterly instincts shutting out her new friendship with the canine digimon. "I'd think that after /my/ accident you would shut it /off/. You 'kay, Inero?"  
  
"Yuh," he answered, rubbing his burned elbow.  
  
"Are you sure?" Ranumon asked, bouncing up and down anxiously.  
  
"Yes." He looked around nervously. "Shouldn't I be running cold water on it?"  
  
"No sinks," Kaishi said, poking the fire with a stick. Tamara glanced at him, noting the haunted look in his dark eyes.  
  
"How long you been awake?"  
  
"In space, no one can hear you scream," he said cryptically, refusing to meet her eyes.  
  
"Bah humbug to you," she muttered.  
  
Yoko blinked and sat up, sniffling a little. "I'm /cold/," she whispered, hugging Celamon close to her chest.  
  
"No heating," Kaishi answered.  
  
Tamara clenched her fist. "What the heck is wrong with you, Kaishi Izumi? You've been antagonistic since we got here!"  
  
His dark eyes seemed to stare right through her, but Tamara just glared right back. Finally, he answered, "The same thing that's wrong with you, Takana. We're all insane. This can't possibly be real."  
  
Tamara's brown eyes burned into his. "That's not all it is, Kaishi."  
  
Varismon, who had been floating around on the ground, zoomed upwards, a barely visible shadow. "The girl is right."  
  
Chino gasped loudly and leapt up, glancing around wildly. "Dad!" he shouted. Noticing where he was, he sat down again, flushing.  
  
Inero, still rubbing at the burn on his elbow, looked down at Ranumon. "It appears that everyone had a nightmare."  
  
"I had no such thing!" Tamara yelled. "It's getting lighter. Let's get outta here."  
  
"Alexandra is still sleeping," Teromon noted.  
  
"Wake her up, then."  
  
~~  
  
Senauramon leaned back in her throne, a smirk touching her lips. "It appears that my Nightmares had a spectacular effect on some of our little friends."  
  
"It was mean," Kemaimon pouted.  
  
Ryukumon flipped a card expertly through the window and onto the table, where it lay beside his face-down card. "I play the Forest of Illusions."  
  
"A combo card," Kemaimon breathed, his turquoise eyes lighting up.  
  
"What's a combo card?" Skydramon asked, his eye widening.  
  
"It does more than one thing," the Water Master explained. "Forest of Illusions is a Magic card /and/ a potent Trap."  
  
"Correct," Ryukumon rumbled. "In the capacity of a Trap card, it remains on the field for five turns, disabling all Attack cards. Magically speaking, the Illusions shield all the cards I play until the five turns are up. None of you will be able to tell what I play, face-down or not."  
  
Farasimon swept into the room grandly. "Not to mention that my forest has /changed/. I don't /like/ it, Ryukumon. It's a /maze/ now."  
  
"At least you have five more turns before you have to fight them."  
  
"Whatever." She picked up her hand, chose a card, and placed it on the table. "I play Armor Upgrade." Shining armor appeared on her, delicately made with sharp edges. She tapped her foot experimentally, her new steel boots clicking on the tiled floor.  
  
Skydramon stared at the five cards he held between his claws. "I can't do this," he whined. "Not with my Attacks disabled. Not for /five turns/. I don't trust my Monsters unless /I/ control them."  
  
Kemaimon grinned. "It's okay, Sky. You have that Remove Trap card in your deck, remember? Draw it and you can get rid of the Forest."  
  
Skydramon stared apprehensively at his deck, then let the breeze take his card and lay it on the table, face-down.  
  
~~  
  
Sandra watched the other Digidestined discreetly as they moved through the thick forest. She could tell that something had changed during the night. Inero kept rubbing at his burnt elbow, his eyes fixed straight ahead, ignoring his sister and Kaishi. The two walked as far apart from one another as they could, Kaishi ignoring everyone, Tamara snapping at those who came too close. Chino's eyes were visibly red, and he led the small group deeper into the forest, speaking in one-word sentences. Yoko. . .well, Yoko didn't seem to be suffering /too/ badly. She talked animatedly, but nervously, trying hard to fill the horrible silence that had descended.  
  
A brilliant green leaf dropped from a tree and drifted down, brushing softly against Sandra's face in its flight to the ground. Her skin shivered at that gentle touch, and she paused, staring down at the leaf.  
  
"Oh," Teromon said, bending over a little to sniff the leaf. "Those are good in meducine."  
  
"Medicine," Sandra corrected, leaning forward. She picked up the leaf, and immediately her hand went numb. She gasped, startled, and slid it into her pocket. Within moments, the feeling began to return to her fingers. She stared up at the tree thoughtfully, aware that the others had moved on, forgetting about her.  
  
"Alexandra..."  
  
"Hush, Tero." The American girl walked over to the tree, grabbed a low branch, and swung herself up, leaving her baton on the ground. She grabbed a handful of leaves, shuddering as the anesthetic plants deadened her hands. She shoved all the leaves into her pockets and reached for more.  
  
A scream rang through the forest from somewhere up ahead. Sandra leapt from the tree and landed on the ground - hard. She winced at the sharp pain in her ankle and limped in the general direction the scream had come from, followed closely by Teromon. The Rainbow Baton lay forgotten on a bed of leaves, glowing slightly.  
  
~~  
  
Farasimon groaned, watching the abandoned Rainbow Baton sadly. "That damn kid. . ."  
  
"Watch your mouth, Fara." Kemaimon turned his eyes from the scene unfolding in the air before him and looked at his cards. Now was the perfect time to play the card he had been holding from the beginning - now!  
  
With a flourish, he laid down the card. Senauramon's black eyes widened, and emotions played across her face - shock, anger, desperation. Farasimon folded her arms and put her head down, shoulders shaking with supressed laughter. Skydramon chuckled.  
  
"He's gotten the best of you again, Senauramon. . ."  
  
~~  
  
"Ahh!" Tamara shrieked, flailing her arms wildly. "Get it off! GET IT OFF!"  
  
"Tamara!" Arcamon yelled, sitting back on her hind legs. "It's only a Yulimon!"  
  
"IT'S ON ME! IT'S ON ME! GET IT OFF!"  
  
Inero dashed forward and yanked the small, fuzzy blue digimon off of his sister. "Tamara, shut it. It's just a little Yulimon."  
  
Tamara calmed down - very little - and pointed a shaking finger at the Yulimon. "Why did it jump at me?!"  
  
Yulimon sniffled, cradled in Inero's arm. "Rappermon."  
  
"Rappermon?" Kaishi snorted. "A black man who has no singing talent whatsoever, that kinda Rappermon?"  
  
"Be nice," Chino said. "Not all rap is bad music, and not all rappers or whatever you call 'em are black."  
  
Sandra appeared just then, her face contorted in pain. "Who screamed?"  
  
"My sister," Inero spat, glaring at her. "Yulimon here jumped onto her."  
  
"Rappermon," Yulimon repeated, snuggling against Inero's chest.  
  
Darmon's green eyes narrowed. "Chino. . ." He tugged on his partner's shirt. "Chino. . ."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"There's no such thing as a Rappermon."  
  
~~  
  
Senauramon recovered quickly after seeing Kemaimon's card. She slammed a card onto the table. "I'm going to snatch up that 'Rappermon'," she snapped. "And use this. Multiplication! Multiply my 'Rappermon' by six!" She added the Magic card to the table.  
  
Farasimon's head jerked up, and she stared, horrified, at Senauramon. "Are you /insane/? You can't multiply a Raptormon! They're deadly enough when it's just one of them!"  
  
"I can and I am. All six of my Raptormon will do just fine without my guidance. . .they're bloodthirsty enough already!"  
  
~~  
  
"Rappermon!" Yulimon squealed.  
  
"Shut /up/," Yoko said, not very convincing about it. "It's all right. There's no Rappermon here."  
  
A bush rustled, and a little boy popped out, brown eyes wide. The child was no more than five years old, with shoulder-length hair so blonde it was almost white. He walked very quickly to the Digidestined and grabbed Sandra's sleeve, tugging on it and pointing the way she had come.  
  
"Hello, what do you want?" Sandra asked, crouching so that she could look straight into the child's eyes. He merely pointed again, urgently. Sandra's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Go back?" He nodded. "Why - my baton! I left it at the tree!"  
  
"I'll get it, Alexandra!" Teromon shouted, dashing along the path. Just as she left their sight, another bush rustled.  
  
"Rappermon!" Yulimon screamed, tiny claws scrabbling to get hold of Inero's shirt. The Digidestined and the little blonde boy turned to look at the bush.  
  
A golden eye peered back.  
  
When the attack came, it was from above. A six-foot-high reptilian digimon dropped onto them with a screech, talons ready to catch. Tamara yanked Kaishi out of the way, and they tumbled to the ground in a heap.  
  
Yoko screamed and jumped back - into the grip of a third Raptormon. Screaming again as the claws tore the bare skin on her arms, she yanked away as Celamon leapt between them, snarling. "Water Strike!" she screamed, leaping up. Streams of water shot from her forepaws and slammed into the Raptormon, who backed up, barely fazed.  
  
The little boy trotted seriously over to Chino and tugged at the blue device clipped to Chino's belt. Chino glanced down and unhooked the device.  
  
"Digivice!" Darmon cried, his voice ringing in a sudden stillness. "If you have a digivice, we can digivolve to stop them!"  
  
"Then do it!" Chino commanded.  
  
A brilliant green light emanated from Darmon. "Darmon, digivolve to. . . Relomon!" The light dissipated, leaving an eight-foot-tall dinosaur. Deep reddish-brown scales covered Relomon's body. His green eyes shone from the silver mask covering his head. His fangs and claws gleamed brightly as he moved forward, slashing at the Raptormon that was patiently waiting for Tamara and Kaishi to stand. The Raptormon shrieked and tried to duck, but couldn't. It was flung into a nearby tree.  
  
"Varismon," Kaishi snapped, eyes flashing as he located his digivice and held it up. The shadow seemed to nod, then emitted a deep gray light - or perhaps the opposite of light. A chill swept the clearing, making all of the Raptormon - the one attacking and the ones still in hiding - scream in pain. Teromon, lugging the Rainbow Baton up the path, paused, staring.  
  
"Varismon, digivolve to. . . Devidramamon!"  
  
The shadow was a shade no longer. Instead, a tall, thin black dragon gazed down, dark blue eyes betraying no emotion. The dragon flapped its grey wings twice, and in a delicate, tantalizing voice, Devidramamon murmured, "Hypnosis Power. . ."  
  
All six of the Raptormon swayed, then collapsed where they stood. Relomon dedigivolved and pressed close to Chino, eyes wide beneath the mask.  
  
Celamon stared first at the unconscious Raptormon, then at Devidramamon. She leapt into Yoko's arms, shivering uncontrollably. Yoko gasped in agony as blood dripped from the gashes on her arms. Teromon handed the baton up to Sandra, who took it, reaching numbly for the anesthetic leaves. Tamara hugged Inero, who in turn hugged Yulimon. Arcamon and Ranumon gazed up at Devidramamon.  
  
The strange little blonde boy simply looked at Kaishi. Their eyes met for a moment, and then the boy turned and walked off down the path, disappearing within moments.  
  
Kaishi watched Devidramamon, coldness settling into his limbs. Terror crept into his dark eyes as the first ramifications of what was happening hit him all at once. Worst of all was that tiny little boy. Kaishi knew, somehow, that if the child had not looked away, he would have been trapped by that brown-eyed gaze forever.  
  
And perhaps. . . it would have been better that way.  
  
~~  
  
Ryukumon placed a card silently on the table. He didn't tell the others what it was, since they couldn't see it through the mist his Forest card had generated. It would be a little while before it took effect, but he could wait.  
  
"Where did that human child come from?" Farasimon demanded shrilly, pointing a finger at the scene before them. "That's no Digidestined!"  
  
"I know," Senauramon said quietly, her eyes hard. "No card brought that one here. . ."  
  
In a hushed voice, Kemaimon whispered, "Then what did?"  
  
~~~~~~  
  
A/N: Ah! I finished the chapter! *faints*  
  
Ken: Oh, that was brilliant.  
  
Casia: Smartest thing you've done yet.  
  
Ken: All right. First thing we're supposed to address. . . we know that Kemaimon's last move was not named. It wasn't a mistake. It was intentional. Oh, and Raptormon isn't much of a name. . . that was obvious from the moment Yulimon announced that "Rappermon" was chasing him.  
  
Casia: As for the little blonde boy, his name is Riki. Don't expect to find out about that any time soon in the actual story. Just store the information away and remember it. And don't expect that Yulimon will be important. He probably won't, but no promises.  
  
Ken: Oh, and review. Soon. Please.  
  
Casia: And watch Yu-Gi-Oh tomorrow, unless tomorrow is Sunday, then it's not on. Is that it?  
  
Ken: Yes, it is. We'll all see you soon enough. . . mwaha. 


	5. The Seven Directions of Chaos

Chapter Four: The Seven Directions of Chaos  
  
The Digidestined proceeded through the forest quietly, alert for possible attack by the Raptormon. Sandra walked behind the rest, clutching her baton and maintaining the Crystal Shield around them. She had tied the numbing leaves to Yoko's cuts with some of the vines hanging from the trees.  
  
"Dead end," Inero said abruptly, stopping. Yulimon squeaked. "Dead, dead, dead end."  
  
The Digidestined stared at the huge fallen tree blocking the path. "We have to go back to the other path we found awhile ago, then," Darmon said.  
  
"We can climb over it," Chino announced.  
  
"Maybe you can," Kaishi snapped, crossing his arms. "Some of us /aren't/ into sports."  
  
"And what's wrong with sports?"  
  
Before Kaishi could answer, Tamara broke in. "I think the proper question is, what's wrong with Kaishi-kun?" She spoke lightly, but her eyes glittered dangerously as she stared at her redheaded friend, waiting for an answer.  
  
Kaishi shook his head and moved forward, out of the area covered by Sandra's shield. He grabbed a branch and scrambled over the tree, followed by the shadowy form of Varismon.  
  
"I don't want to climb it," Yoko whined. "My arms /hurt/ again."  
  
There was a horrifying roar from somewhere behind. Sandra froze and glanced back. "Don't look now. . . but I think our friends are awake."  
  
Without any further conversation, all of the Digidestined dashed forward and leapt at the tree, grabbing at dead branches and hoisting themselves up.  
  
The ground began to shake, jolting the children and their partners. Inero nearly fell and scraped his chin badly on a protruding limb. Tamara grabbed his arm and dragged him back up.  
  
"What's going on?" Sandra screamed, having quite a bit of difficulty with her baton.  
  
~~  
  
"My earthquake," Farasimon smirked. She tapped her newly-played card. "That should help the builders of my fortress considerably, don't you think? Shake down all that rock on the cliff."  
  
Skydramon drew another card and sighed. It wasn't Remove Trap, but it would still be quite a help to him. "Tyrannomon in offensive mode," he announced, giving the card to the wind and letting it take it to the table. "He's mine now, Attack cards or no."  
  
~~  
  
Kaishi jumped to the ground, Varismon hovering over his head. He reached up to grab Arcamon from Tamara as the ground quivered beneath his feet. There was another roar, closer now, and a thud from the other side. "Darmon!" Chino yelled.  
  
"The digimon can't climb well!" Yoko shouted, her head appearing at the top of the tree. She tossed Celamon over and then ducked down, apparently to help Chino with Darmon. Kaishi caught the blue-green cat and set her down, then reached up to grab Ranumon and Inero's hand.  
  
A bush rustled nearby. Inero cried out and fell forward, knocking Kaishi over. "Raptormon!" Inero shrieked, protectively cradling the tiny Yulimon.  
  
"Just me," Teromon said, stepping out. "I went around the tree. It's pretty thick, though - I don't think they can."  
  
Tamara jumped down and turned to take the baton from Sandra, then helped the American girl over the tree. "Yoko, Chino, Darmon!" she called. "Hurry it up!"  
  
Another roar, much, much closer, and a thud that wasn't one of them. The ground was still shaking, but with each thud, it positively jumped. Darmon came sailing over the tree and landed on top of Sandra, knocking them both over. Sandra struggled to her feet, wincing at the sudden pain in her ankle, and grabbed the baton. "Where /are/ those two? We've got to get the shield up!"  
  
Chino clambered over the trunk and slid to the ground, rubbing at a scrape on his knee. "My jeans will never be the same," he said sadly as Yoko appeared again.  
  
"It's coming!" she shrieked, throwing one leg over the trunk and turning her head to stare back the way they had come. "It's a T-rex!"  
  
"T-what?" Celamon asked as her partner jumped to the ground.  
  
"A red and green Tyrannosaurus rex!"  
  
"Tyrannomon!" Darmon cried. "Run away! Run away!"  
  
Without bothering to set up the Crystal Shield, the children gathered up their partners and ran.  
  
~~  
  
Skydramon stared at the cards he held, shaking slightly. Three Attacks and a Weapon card. No, Chino wouldn't be able to use /that/ kind of Weapon. It was more suited to the small dark-haired boy, but he had to draw a Magic card to be able to arm another Digidestined. There were only six Magic cards in his deck, and he had played two of them. What were the chances of drawing Remove Trap or Control Room?  
  
Not very good. And his turn wasn't ended yet.  
  
"This, face-down," he announced, playing one of his Attack cards. It wouldn't work until he destroyed that Forest, but at least it was on the field. Along with his Tyrannomon.  
  
~~  
  
The raptor with the golden eyes lay in wait behind a bush, watching as the children pounded past. It was not an ordinary digimon. It did not /think/, precisely, and it did not speak. It merely attacked. While intelligent, it did not process thoughts. It simply /knew/ what to do. That made it a deadly predator and a master strategist. Almost as good as its master.  
  
It saw the girl with the dark hair and hissed. Instantly it knew - her name, her history, how to defeat her. It knew, but it required the aid of its brothers.  
  
Together, the six of them were unstoppable.  
  
Tyrannomon pounded past, then paused, sniffing. Raptormon snarled. The larger dinosaur knew that it was there! That creature had to be deleted. Otherwise everything would go wrong!  
  
Raptormon turned and dashed away to find its brothers. They /would/ destroy the dark-haired one.  
  
~~  
  
Kemaimon frowned at the table. Glancing at the Tyrannomon card, he decided to do something about that. Reaching out, he flipped over his face-down card. "Spellbinding, activate and trap Tyrannomon!" White lines spread from the card and into the scene playing out in the air, wrapping tightly around Tyrannomon.  
  
"You fell into my trap!" Ryukumon exulted. "The card I played on my last turn was hidden from you, so how could you know that activating a face-down card would also activate it?"  
  
Senauramon gasped, almost dropping her cards. "You don't mean. . ."  
  
"I do!" He reached through the window and brushed the mist away for a moment, allowing them to see his card. "The Seven Directions of Chaos! Separate the Digidestined!"  
  
~~  
  
Chino wasn't quite sure what had happened. One minute, he had heard the agonized roar of Tyrannomon, and the next, he and Darmon almost crashed into a tree that definitely hadn't been there before. It was deadly silent.  
  
"Hello?" Chino called, spinning slowly and searching the foliage for his friends. "Hello? Where are they, Darmon?"  
  
The small brown digimon peered around. "I have no idea. And we're stuck."  
  
"Stuck?" Chino crouched down beside his partner, brushing his blonde hair out of his bright blue eyes. "What do you mean, stuck?"  
  
"There are no paths out of here."  
  
Chino stood and waved a hand at the bushes. "We can walk through them and /find/ a path."  
  
Darmon shook his head. "No, those are poison. If you touch them, they'll make you fall asleep, and nothing will ever wake you up again."  
  
Chino exhaled slowly, his breath hissing. "So let me get this straight. We're in a clearing, alone, surrounded by poisonous plants?"  
  
"That's it."  
  
Chino looked up at the branches stretching above him. "Are the trees okay?"  
  
"Yeah, they're normal."  
  
Chino bit his lip, thinking hard. "So we /could/ climb through the trees and get out of here."  
  
"You could do that, yes, but I can't climb."  
  
Chino nodded slowly and walked to the edge of the clearing. He stared out over the poisonous bushes. "I bet I can make that."  
  
"What? Make what?" Darmon joined his partner, eyes worried.  
  
"I bet I can throw you over the poison and then climb over through the trees."  
  
"Throw me!" Darmon's voice rose to a terror-filled squeak. "Throw me over the poison?!"  
  
"As you wish." Before his partner could protest, Chino grabbed him and tossed him over the bushes, then grabbed a branch and dragged himself into a tree.  
  
~~  
  
Yoko frowned and crossed her arms angrily. "Where are the others?"  
  
Celamon walked down the path, sniffing. "I can't get any trace of them. They just vanished."  
  
Yoko looked back down the trail and felt her stomach flip-flop. "Or maybe /we/ just vanished, Celamon. We haven't turned a corner! We should still see the tree!"  
  
Celamon sniffed her way back. "You're right. No one's walked back here. We /did/ vanish!"  
  
Yoko wrinkled her brow, thinking hard. Something was /wrong/. Other than the vanishing. "Celamon. Look at the path."  
  
Celamon looked. "It's a path."  
  
"There are no leaves on it, Cel. There were leaves back where we were. They fell out of the trees." She turned her gaze to the canopy above. "Something came and ate the leaves."  
  
"It might eat us!" Celamon screamed in horror.  
  
"No, not if it's a. . . a plant-eater thing." Yoko started walking down the path, so Celamon bounded after her. "Maybe it can help us! Hey! Herbi. . . um. . . plant-eater thing! Can you help us?"  
  
Nothing.  
  
Celamon sat back on her hind legs, her ears wiggling. "I'll get us a leaf. Water Strike!" She raised her forepaws to let the attack jet toward a leaf. It clipped the stem, and the leaf fell.  
  
Immediately, a long pink tongue snaked out of the bushes and captured the leaf. Yoko sprang after the tongue and found herself face-to-face with a strange pink digimon.  
  
"Um, hi. We're lost. How do we get out of the forest?"  
  
The pink aardvark flapped its small wings and rose two inches, the leaf crunching in its mouth.  
  
"Um, nice flying. Um, help?"  
  
It pointed down the path, back the way they had come. Yoko bowed.  
  
"Arigato, Pinkmon. C'mon, Celamon!" The two dashed off, leaving the aardvark to its meal.  
  
~~  
  
Inero blinked, and instantly found himself upside-down. He gave a strangled scream and flailed wildly, trying to grab the vine that held his ankle.  
  
"Don't panic!" Ranumon shouted, peering up at his partner. "Kindaamon didn't mean to catch you!"  
  
The vine lowered Inero to the ground and let go. Inero stared at the blinking eyes of the tree and screamed again.  
  
"Quit it," Ranumon told him. "Kindaamon is nice. I always liked him."  
  
Kindaamon bent forward, brushing a limb against Inero's cheek. "A human child. What an amazing thing. There hasn't been a human in this region for many years - twenty, I believe."  
  
Inero glanced around. "Ranumon, where are we?"  
  
"Where Kindaamon is."  
  
"And how far are we from where we were?"  
  
"Opposite end of the forest, actually."  
  
Kindaamon sighed, the sound like wind blowing through his branches. "The forest has changed, Ranumon. I feel it in the air, in the earth. Early this morning, everything shifted. This is no longer the opposite end of the forest. I am not sure where we are."  
  
Inero sat down and drew his knees up to his chest. "We're lost. Tamara's gone. We're all alone!"  
  
"You're not alone with me here," Ranumon murmured, nuzzling Inero.  
  
Kindaamon made a creaking sound. "Rest here awhile. Perhaps your friends will track you down with their digivices."  
  
Inero pulled his out and stared at the blinking red dots. "They're so far away. . ."  
  
Ranumon grinned and balanced on his tail. "But I'm not. Isn't that the point of having a partner?"  
  
Inero gasped suddenly and glanced around wildly. "Where's Yulimon?"  
  
~~  
  
"Where is my brother?!"  
  
Arcamon stepped prudently away from her partner. "I don't know, Tamara. I have no idea how we got here."  
  
Tamara hissed angrily and kicked an unoffending tree. "My little brother is gone, Arcamon. What did you do?"  
  
"Me? I didn't do anything."  
  
"Yes you did! You live in this awful place, don't you? It's like - like Jurassic Park without a freaking island or freaking electric fences! There are velociraptors and tyrannosaurs chasing us and my brother is /gone/!"  
  
Arcamon was silent for a moment, then corrected, "Raptormon and Tyrannomon. That's who's chasing us. And what's Jurassic Park?"  
  
"A good movie, a confusing book, and a horrible place." Tamara kicked the tree again. "Let's get out of here."  
  
"And go where?"  
  
Tamara heard a beep and pulled out her digivice. "What are these blinky things?"  
  
"The other digivices."  
  
Tamara nodded slowly. "Let's go to this one. It's moving toward us." She headed off, her eyes on the digivice. Arcamon pranced after her partner, flaming tail held high.  
  
~~  
  
Kaishi also watched his digivice. "That one's moving closer, Varismon. Let's head the other way."  
  
Varismon hissed. "Why? Should we not meet up with them?"  
  
"Yeah, but. . . later. Right now I'm. . . confused."  
  
"About Devidramamon and the little boy."  
  
"Yes." Kaishi shuddered and turned around, marching in the opposite direction. "That was horrible, Var. How you got bigger, solid, and then you made them all fall asleep. You could do that to anyone."  
  
"It is Devidramamon's gift. I am not him now, and I need never be again, if you wish it."  
  
"I think I do."  
  
"And the child?"  
  
"I hate him!" the redhead burst out. "I don't know why, but I /hate/ him!"  
  
Varismon was silent for some time, then murmured, "He is no Digidestined. I cannot touch his mind. There is a wall there."  
  
"Oh, so now you go inside people's heads. Is there /anything/ good about you?"  
  
"I'm your partner, am I not?"  
  
Kaishi stared at the ground. "Yeah. I guess that's a good thing."  
  
~~  
  
Sandra stopped running very suddenly when the others disappeared. She gaped at the place where they had been, then shrieked, "Teromon!"  
  
The amber-streaked digimon butted her head against Sandra's thigh. "I'm right next to you."  
  
Sandra fell to her knees and hugged the plant digimon. "Where are they?" she whispered. "Why isn't Tyrannomon chasing me anymore?"  
  
Teromon listened carefully for a moment. "He's gone. They're gone. Where /did/ they go?"  
  
Sandra took several deep breaths, trying desperately to calm down. "Okay. Okay. Let's keep going and maybe we'll find them."  
  
"Sure, Alexandra."  
  
"Quit it. I go by Sandra."  
  
Teromon shrugged, a motion that caused her to overbalance and collapse. "Ouch."  
  
Sandra grinned. "Come, Teromon. We have to get out of this forest. Maybe the others will meet us on the other side."  
  
"Don't forget your baton!"  
  
Sandra grabbed the baton and twirled it, watching the multi-colored sparks jetting from the end. "How did I get this? It just appeared."  
  
"I don't know, Alexandra."  
  
Sandra narrowed her eyes. "I bet whatever gave me this took the others away as well. In which case maybe we can use my baton to track them. Magic residue and such."  
  
"Magic what?"  
  
"You wouldn't understand. I read a lot." Sandra dropped the baton and bit her lip, trying to think. "Um. Show me the way to your Master?"  
  
The baton wobbled, spun, and pointed backwards.  
  
"Well, we're going the wrong way. . ."  
  
"Then let's turn around now!"  
  
~~  
  
Tyrannomon roared, dark eyes wild. First he had been compelled into fighting for the Air Master, then he had been trapped in a spell, and now he was in a different place and the prey was /gone/!  
  
Well, except that squealing little blue thing.  
  
Tyrannomon snapped at the Spellbinding, which dropped off, and bent down, sniffing at Yulimon. It screamed in horror and quivered.  
  
A white-haired human child burst from the foliage and snatched up the Yulimon. The boy turned his eyes on Tyrannomon. He said nothing, but the digimon read the child's eyes. "You will go away now, and you will not come back."  
  
Tyrannomon obeyed. Without thinking, he obeyed.  
  
The little boy smiled, hugging Yulimon, and walked back into the brush.  
  
~~  
  
Senauramon clenched her teeth, dangerous in her anger. These fools! They didn't even /know/ her master strategy, and yet they thwarted her with every turn. She hadn't even known that Ryukumon owned Seven Directions of Chaos! /She/ didn't even have that card! And worst of all, now it was a very bad idea to turn over her face-down card. Every time someone did, Seven Directions would do something. This time it had split up the children, but next time. . .  
  
Next time, Ryukumon might separate her Raptormon.  
  
And that ridiculous card of Kemaimon's! How dare he! She had had /plans/, and now they were ruined unless she removed the Magic card. At least he couldn't affect the other children. . . unless he had a Control Room card.  
  
/Why/ hadn't she checked their decks?  
  
She gazed at her hand, for the first time feeling doubt. A Weapon: No, Kaishi had one, or would, anyway. Armor: She didn't need it, and couldn't think of anyone who did. Two Attacks: Useless, all useless! The Game rested on her next draw.  
  
She pulled a card from the deck and played it, barely looking. Then she looked again and started to smirk. It couldn't have turned out better.  
  
"Cemetery," she snapped. "All cards in all hands go to the cemetery." She put her current hand down, grinning still. Now there was more of a chance. If /only/ someone would remove that stupid Forest of Illusions!  
  
~~  
  
Skydramon came very close to sobbing when Senauramon called a Cemetery card. What about the Weapon? What good was a Control Room without something to /do/ with it?  
  
Then he recovered. Another of his Magic cards would resurrect any card he chose. Of course, everyone else would get a card back as well, but that didn't matter.  
  
However, he still had the problem of six Magic cards in his entire deck. How could he possibly draw what he needed to win?  
  
~~  
  
Farasimon abandoned her hand, but didn't choose anew. "I'm off to check on my fortifications," she announced. "Call me after Ryukumon plays." She walked quickly out of the room.  
  
Once in the hallway, she kicked the wall. Stupid, stupid Cemetery card! She had really wanted to play Blossomon as another guard. Now that option was lost forever. Or at least until the next Game.  
  
Assuming, of course, that she lived that long.  
  
Three turns left until she faced the Digidestined for the first time.  
  
And possibly the last time.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
A/N: It's over. Chapter Four is /over/. And it took forever. Now, then, if you're planning to review, by all means, /do so/. I'm gonna keep writing no matter what you say, but everyone likes compliments! ^_^ 


	6. Out of the Forest

Chapter Five: Out of the Forest  
  
Chino collapsed against a tree with a groan. "Hold on, Darmon. I can't walk any further."  
  
From somewhere nearby, there was a scream, a crash, and a loud voice exclaiming, "See, what did I tell you? Rocks and bees /don't/ mix well."  
  
"This has nothing to do with dat, Alexandra!"  
  
Chino leapt up and scrambled over to peer through a bush. On another path he hadn't known was there, someone had apparently fallen into a hole. Sandra's Rainbow Baton laid across the top, bent dangerously. Two hands gripped it frantically, and a strange-colored fern was bending over the hole.  
  
"Sandra!" Chino cried, jumping out of the brush and dragging her onto the road. "Are you all right?"  
  
"Yeah," she muttered. "Although Teromon here has some strange opinions of rocks."  
  
"It's not /my/ fault some of them are animate objects."  
  
"Well, I really didn't need to hear about Polymerizing or whatever."  
  
Chino scratched his head. "Okay. . ."  
  
Sandra brushed dead leaves off of her jeans. "Let's get going. I'm gonna find whoever gave me this baton and do something mean to them."  
  
~~  
  
Ryukumon scrutinized his new cards. "Perfect," he murmured, setting a card on the table. Reflection. Any attacks directed at Tamara or at his Monsters would simply be reflected, and with his Forest of Illusions in play, hopefully no one would know until it was too late.  
  
Farasimon returned then, pale with fury. "That brat is tracking me!" she hissed, drawing five cards and glaring at them for a moment. Then discovery dawned on her face. With a brilliant smile, she slapped the card onto the table. "I play Lillymon in defensive mode, and I add this card." She flipped it onto the table. "Two can play this Game, 'Naura. Multiply my Lillymon by two!"  
  
"Only two?" Skydramon objected.  
  
"She has a strong defense because of her agility. I hardly need more than two."  
  
Skydramon sighed and stared at his cards. Monsters and Attacks - just perfect, since he was in desperate need of his Magic cards. He set another Attack on the table, face-down, and gazed at his deck. What were the chances of drawing Remove Trap next turn?  
  
Not very good.  
  
And until he drew that card, the Digidestined would never find their way from the Forest of Illusions.  
  
~~  
  
Yoko staggered along through the rapidly thickening forest, carrying Celamon. She raised one hand to rub at her eyes. They had been walking for hours and hours. The path kept twisting and turning, and it was progressively growing harder to walk on. Several times the path had simply ended, and she had been forced to go back and find another way.  
  
There was a very loud thud, and the ground shook.  
  
Yoko gasped and turned as a loud roar caused several birdlike digimon to rise from the trees, screaming their fear. The little girl started to run, her dirty sneakers pounding on the uneven ground. "How did he find us?" she gasped.  
  
"Maybe it's a different Tyrannomon?" Celamon offered. "I can digivolve if we're attacked."  
  
Yoko skidded to a stop as they rounded a corner to face a stone wall. "Oh, no, Celamon! We can't get around it!"  
  
The bellows of the Tyrannomon reached them. "We can't go back," Celamon noted. "We have to get over this wall, Yoko!"  
  
Mimi's sensitive and occasionally eccentric daughter nodded and grabbed some ivy, tugging on it. "I can climb this, but you're a kitty. What will you do?"  
  
Celamon frowned. "I can cling to your T-shirt, I think."  
  
"Then do it!" Yoko winced as Celamon's claws brushed her skin. She waited until the cat was settled, then stuck her foot into a hole and started climbing.  
  
Celamon screamed.  
  
Yoko whirled and saw the enormous head of Tyrannomon, who had bent over to stare at them. She shrieked in terror and kept climbing. Only a few feet to the top. . .  
  
Celamon fell off and plunged, still screaming, to the ground. Yoko clung to the ivy, her eyes squeezed shut. "I don't want to fight!" she screeched. "Please, Mr. Tyrannomon, sir, let us go away peacefully!"  
  
Then she heard a cat's snarl and a familiar voice crying, "Celamon, digivolve to. . . Marasamon! Hydro Cannon!"  
  
Yoko didn't turn to look, but she heard Tyrannomon cry out in pain, and then something crashed through the foliage and another something was nuzzling her.  
  
"Yoko, I found a way to get over the wall."  
  
The girl turned and stared in shock at the large blue-green lioness watching her with worried eyes. More interesting still were the feathery aqua wings brushing the trees on either side of the path. Marasamon grinned sheepishly.  
  
"I thought we could just fly."  
  
Yoko shrieked in delight and jumped to the ground, where she proceeded to scramble onto Marasamon's back. "And Mother said cats don't fly," she said, utterly satisfied. "Let's go, Celamon!"  
  
~~  
  
"Good show," Kemaimon said, grinning brightly. "I knew Celamon was a good choice."  
  
"I hate them both," Farasimon announced.  
  
Kemaimon shook his head and put a card on the table. "Bubble Head."  
  
Farasimon burst out laughing and had to put her cards down, for fear of dropping them. "/Bubble Head/?"  
  
Kemaimon tried very hard to look dignified. "It's an Armor card for Inero. You can't drown someone when their head is inside a plastic bubble."  
  
"That's ridiculous," Ryukumon objected. "Everyone will laugh at him."  
  
"It only activates when he's in the water and an evil Monster is within thirty feet," Kemaimon muttered. "I figure with Marasamon, Yoko doesn't need a Bubble Head."  
  
"Bubble Head!" Farasimon shrieked, dissolving in giggles.  
  
Senauramon grinned, for the first time sincerely. "I think someone made a huge mistake in naming /that/ card."  
  
Now Kemaimon just looked offended. "I named that card!"  
  
And, for the first time /ever/, Senauramon started to laugh helplessly.  
  
~~  
  
Kaishi Izumi was not accustomed to forests. He hadn't been on a hike since a field trip in the second grade, and his general opinion of them was not good. He didn't approve of professional sports or gym class, since he had always been naturally thin. His pale skin burned easily, and he rarely left his beloved computer unless Tamara forced him into it.  
  
This forest was quite different from anything he had ever encountered before.  
  
For one thing, it reminded him of a maze. He liked mazes, the ones done on paper, and he was usually quite good at finding the way out. In this case, however, he kept tripping over things and going down paths that led nowhere.  
  
Another thing that was driving him crazy about this forest was the lack of noises. In an Earth forest, he usually heard birds, small animals, other people. Here, there was nothing except the occasional far-off roar of Tyrannomon and the incessant beeping of his digivice.  
  
Varismon floated along beside the boy, watching his partner with dark eyes. "The girl is still following you."  
  
Kaishi checked the blue device. "Yeah, she won't give up." He noticed another red dot nearby and changed his course to avoid it. "How deep is this forest?"  
  
"Farasimon's castle was on the other side, last time I checked."  
  
Kaishi finally snapped. "Varismon, I'm hot, I'm tired, and I can't walk anymore. Can you digivolve and carry me to the castle?"  
  
"I could, if that is what you wish."  
  
A bush rustled, and a green eye set in a reptilian face peered out. Varismon's voice lowered considerably. "It is one of the Raptormon. Be careful."  
  
Kaishi slowly nodded, not taking his eyes off of the half-hidden digimon.  
  
~~  
  
Senauramon dug her nails into her palm. Stupid, stupid Ryukumon! She was in a horrid predicament. She /really/ wanted to turn over her face-down card, but what would he separate? She /really/ wanted to play an Attack card, but she couldn't!  
  
She had to take a risk.  
  
"I activate this card," she snapped, flipping it over. "Electric Gloves, protect my Digidestined from himself!"  
  
Silence, except for Kemaimon's soft voice. "Isn't that Myzzeramon's favorite card?"  
  
~~  
  
Kaishi yelped as blue and yellow gloves appeared on his hands. He tore one off and tossed it to the ground in horror.  
  
Raptormon screamed and leapt forward, claws extended. Kaishi held up his bare hand to fend it off. . .  
  
And it twisted, trying to call off its attack. It couldn't. It touched his hand and sparked, falling to the ground with a screech, writhing in pain as electricity rippled along its muscular frame.  
  
Kaishi stared at his hand.  
  
"Put the glove back on," Varismon hissed. "Those are Electric Gloves. If you don't wear them, you'll shock anything you touch."  
  
"My hands didn't used to do that," the boy said, his voice shaking.  
  
"They do now. Put the glove back on and we'll get out of here! Varismon, digivolve to. . . Devidramamon!"  
  
Kaishi retrieved his glove and clambered onto the black dragon, staring at the smoking Raptormon in horror. He suddenly noticed that his pocket felt empty.  
  
"Wait, Var. My necklace is gone." He fumbled through his pockets, trying to find it, and scanned the ground desperately. There was no help for it. The mysterious grey necklace was gone.  
  
~~  
  
Ryukumon laughed a little at Kaishi's frantic search. "That's because the Seven Directions of Chaos separated the crests," he said triumphantly, not noticing Senauramon's sigh of relief.  
  
He looked at the hand he had drawn after the Cemetery card. Negate Attack. Perfect for when the forest wore off. He played it face-down and looked at Farasimon.  
  
She drew a card and played it. "Defense Fortification," she announced. "That strengthens my walls and castle by two."  
  
Skydramon sighed and looked at his deck. Everything rested on this card. He had to draw that Remove Trap, or he would never make it through the next turn. He needed Attack power!  
  
He decided to wait. Better to let the children get out of the forest and then turn it back, after all.  
  
Assuming he /could/ turn it back.  
  
~~  
  
Tamara sighed in relief when she saw her brother curled up at the foot of an enormous tree. "Inero," she called softly. "Ranumon. We're here."  
  
The mouse-like digimon bounced over to her and stared. "It /is/ you! He's asleep, though. Should we wait?"  
  
The tree bent over, wind whistling in its branches. "I do not think we can afford for you to wait. The leader of the Raptormon is close. She will kill you before you even know that she is there. . ."  
  
There was a strange hiss and a faint shriek from somewhere nearby. Tamara yelped and turned to Arcamon.  
  
"If you do that digivolving thing, will we get out of here any faster?"  
  
"I really don't know, but I can try. Arcamon, digivolve to. . . Eveimon!"  
  
"Ranumon, digivolve to. . . Terenorimon!"  
  
Eveimon moved to stand in front of Tamara. "I'll hold it off," she murmured. Tamara just stared at the large creature before her. With a mane of fire and cannon-like objects strapped to her sides, Eveimon looked nothing like her previous form of Arcamon.  
  
"Ahh!" Inero screeched. "Ahh! Ranumon is gone!"  
  
Tamara whirled to look and saw Terenorimon, a giant yellow rodent with huge ears that reminded her of wings. His tail was even longer than it had been before, with a sharp red jewel adoring the tip.  
  
There was a soft thump, and Tamara glanced to the side. She screamed on seeing the tall reptilian form of the golden-eyed Raptormon, who hissed and stepped toward her.  
  
The tree tore its roots from the ground and moved slowly to block the Raptormon, who leapt back into the brush. Eveimon and Terenorimon moved together, each warily watching the surrounding forest. Tamara stepped backward, almost falling into the large hole the tree had left behind.  
  
Thud.  
  
Tamara whirled to see the golden-eyed Raptormon standing on the other side of the pit. She screamed as it leapt at her and ducked, tumbling into the pit. She groaned, raising her hand to wipe off the blood on her head.  
  
Thud. She gasped and struggled to open her eyes, but she already knew the truth.  
  
/It had jumped down/.  
  
A cold talon ran down her arm, making her shudder and try to crawl away. The earth she rested on shivered, and she felt the Raptormon pause.  
  
Then there was excruciating pain, and she was falling again, plunged into blackness. . .  
  
~~  
  
Ryukumon closed his eyes against the sight of his chosen Digidestined. "Senauramon. . ."  
  
"I'm sorry," she said without any conviction. "She isn't dead, you know."  
  
He groaned. "Oh, 'Naura, this is horrible. Nothing like this happened /last/ time we played."  
  
Skydramon just couldn't take it. He reached out to his deck, brown eyes closed, and drew a card.  
  
~~  
  
Marasamon landed on the opposite side of the forest. Yoko dismounted and glanced around, noting the forbidding castle on a cliff not too far away.  
  
"Yoko!" someone called. The little girl turned and saw Sandra, Chino, and their respective partners dashing toward her. Chino reached her first and roughly embraced her. "You made it!"  
  
"So did you," she giggled. "Celamon fought Tyrannomon and she /won/."  
  
"Cool," Sandra said. "Teromon here says that's Farasimon's castle."  
  
"Oh, cool."  
  
A black shadow crossed the ground, and Devidramamon landed. Kaishi slid off. "We're here. Where are Tamara and Inero?"  
  
Darmon peered closely at the redhead. "Were you wearing those gloves before?"  
  
"What? Oh, yes. You must not have noticed." He seemed nervous for some reason.  
  
Suddenly a very strange digimon came flying over the treetops - Terenorimon, his ears acting as wings, with Inero dangling from his tail. He deposited the small boy on the ground. Inero sniffled, sat down, and burst into tears.  
  
"What happened?" Sandra asked, moving quickly to his side.  
  
"Tamara!" he sobbed. "She fell in a big hole and. . . and. . ."  
  
A large, fiery canine ran out of the trees, the unconscious Tamara lashed to her back with vines. "We have to get to shelter," Eveimon gasped. "Those Raptormon are /fast/."  
  
"How is she?" Kaishi asked worriedly, walking to Eveimon's side and pulling his friend off of her back. He gagged at the sight of the blood seeping through her shirt. "Jeez, Inero, are you /sure/ she only fell in a hole?"  
  
Terenorimon shifted anxiously from side to side. "Well, y'see, the Raptormon fell in, too. . . and then she fell /again/."  
  
Tamara groaned and stirred in Kaishi's arms. He glanced back at the forest.  
  
"We have to get out of here. There's a cave in that cliff. Arcamon, can you carry her that far?"  
  
"Eveimon, for the time being," the Champion corrected. "Let's go."  
  
~~  
  
Skydramon couldn't help it; he whooped for joy as his newest card was played. "Remove Trap!" he shrieked gleefully. "Remove the Forest of Illusions now!"  
  
The mist around Ryukumon's cards shifted, allowing everyone to see the Reflection card he had played face-up. "Oh, so /that/ was your plan," Farasimon said, smirking deviously. Ryukumon growled.  
  
"How did you manage to get that card, Sky? You hardly have /any/ Magic cards. . ."  
  
Skydramon shrugged as best he could. "Sometimes you have to have a little faith, Ryu."  
  
Kemaimon quietly played a card. "Rest and Healing," he whispered. "This will shield their cave from any attacks for one turn."  
  
"Softie," Farasimon muttered.  
  
"I think it's sweet," Senauramon objected.  
  
"Liiiiar. I'm off. . . call me!" She dashed out of the room, trying to conceal her panic.  
  
One turn. One turn of rest for them and then they would strike at her. She just wasn't /ready/ for this. If only she had been able to play Blossomon!  
  
Well, Roseinamon and Lillymon would have to do. Otherwise. . . she didn't want to think about the consequences.  
  
~~  
  
The raptor with the golden eyes watched from the bushes as the Digidestined hobbled toward a cave. She saw the pearly glimmer around it and /knew/ that she couldn't attack it - not alone. She needed the other Raptormon. . .  
  
Her beautiful but dangerous eyes sparkled with new hatred. She had been /so close/ to killing the dark-haired girl! She had stood next to the child, had slashed at her with talons that even now dripped blood, and then, in a perverse twist of fate, the dirt had given way, and the girl had dropped behind the raptor's reach.  
  
Oh, well. Next time. . . next time she /would/ prevail.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
A/N: Whoo. I /like/ that last segment. I'm starting to like my lovely golden-eyed velociraptor! Did anyone else like it? *looks around* Anyone? Guess not. Oh, well, adios! 


End file.
